Make the Online Buying and Renting Experience Second to None

How much time and effort does your company put into making the online buying experience as good as it can be for consumers?

In some cases, the answer to that question is unfortunately not very good.

For some businesses, the online buying experience is not what it should be, reasons for which can be numerous.

Whether your business is presently selling products and services online or considering doing it moving forward, the importance of a positive online buying experience for consumers can never be taken for granted.

Customers Going More and More Online

It should not come as a big surprise that more and more shoppers are going online for their product and service needs.

As a result of this, it is imperative that your business (if you sell online) makes the Internet buying or rental experience as clean and smooth as possible for consumers.

So, how do you go about doing that?

Among the ways:

• Stellar website – First and foremost, is your website up to the task of meeting the needs of consumers? Give your site regular reviews from time to time, looking for any issues, inconsistencies etc. that may derail your ability to sell or rent products and services. Even the slightest of glitches may end up giving consumers second thoughts about dealing with you on a regular basis. When that happens, word can spread to their friends and families that your site can’t cut it when it comes to renting or selling online;
• Showcase your products and services – In order to increase the odds of making successful rentals or sales, the products and/or services you offer online must be shown in their proper light. Whether it is products for the home or garage like garage doors, lawnmowers, a hydraulic chainsaw, moving equipment or a host of other items, how you present these online goes a long way in determining whether or not you will score a rental or ultimately a sale. You can best showcase these items and others by presenting them with informational copy and clear images (see more below);
• Look and feel of success – When consumers go online for sales or rentals, they want to deal with a website that has its game together. This means providing informational copy to go with the product or service, clearly explaining what it does and how the consumer can benefit from using it. Be sure to list the relevant features of the item, any type of warranty that it offers, and of course pricing details. When it comes to imagery, a strong photo is needed. This means a clear shot (hire professional photographers if need be), not something that is small and/or blurry, making it hard for the consumer to truly see. Your site should also offer a “zoom” button, thereby allowing consumers to enlarge the product image. If the product looks like the size of a stamp and is hard to see, some consumers will opt to not buy or rent it, fearing they don’t truly know what is looks like or is made of;
• Customer service – Whether you get a sale or just rent a product out, make sure that you always follow-up with the customer to rate their experience. Were they happy with the level of customer service you or your team provided them? Are they inclined to rent or buy from you again down the road? What one thing would they want you to do differently the next time around should they choose to do business with you? As more consumers opt for the online buying or renting experience, it is important that businesses raise their customer service levels even higher. In doing so, they stand to get more business and always be at or near the top of consumer minds.

There is a good chance that your business is already doing or considering doing online sales and rentals in the very near future.

With that in mind, check to make sure you are properly set up to do just that.

If you’re not quite there yet, take the time to get it right from the start, avoiding a bad customer experience the first time around.